Friday, January 1, 2010

Podcast: Reanimated

So I’ve decided that telling myself that it’s lame to make new years resolutions is just another stupid excuse. True, nearly everyone makes new years resolutions, but very few people keep them. In this way I shall remain distinct and un-lame.

The Goal:
Get the podcast off the ground by making it simpler, better quality, and easier to maintain/edit

One podcast per month

Each month there is a theme, stories must be written within that month to capitalize on the whole “don’t edit too much” thing.

Entries are due by the 20th of the month so I have time to edit and record.

The theme for each month will be announced in the podcast as well as on my website.

Why this will work:

It’s simpler, I had delusions of grandeur about some kind of voting system where listeners could vote on what would be recorded. This was too complex. It may rise again from the ashes but for now we’re going for good old email.

I have access to excellent recording environs: I work in the media department of a church and they have a studio where they record things for radio broadcast, so it should be good enough for this podcast.

Another nice thing about this setup is I’ll be forced to just run through it and edit later instead of editing in between takes because the recording gear is in a separate room.

The first theme is“Dark Lullabies for Strange Children”

I wanted something short and simple and I’ve been on a poetry kick lately so I wanted to flex those muscles. I’m looking for fairly short form pieces. Under 700 words. You definitely don’t have to do poetry, but if you do, bonus points for rhyme, meter and form.
I won’t elaborate too much on the theme because I want to leave your options open but the “for strange children” bit means that I’d prefer something which could conceivably be read to a young person. I don’t mind if it’s disturbing, but I’d prefer if it wasn’t profane. I am recording this in a church after all.Entries are due on January 20th, 2010. Good luck

17 Comments:

This works so well! I'm already writing! I just found out about this. I'm not finished my "Dark Lullabies for Strange Children" story yet, but everyone will just say it's bad and a waste of time, so I'm just not going to submit it. But I'll keep checking back for more comments and story ideas, because this is brilliant! Thanks.

@Tiz That's totally the sort of attitude I'm trying to overcome! You should submit it and I'll do my best to give you feedback if you'd like it. I make wicked tools but I'm actually quite nice. And also, writing is NEVER EVER a waste of time.

@Dr Wicked Okay then. I'll submit it, if I finish it, that is. Feedback is always helpful. Don't thousands of people submit their stories though. . .? Sometimes writing can be a waste of time, if all you do is stare at the paper numbly. Or if have writer's block, or if you re-read your story and hate it, or if it doesn't flow, or if the characters hate you for neglecting them. This site is very interesting. Do you seriously have a recording studio in a church...? Wow.

Tiz, writing is never a waste of time. It's not always about being published - sometimes it's about us making sense of our lives and our thoughts. Someone once said, "I don't know what I think until I write it down." :)

Everything is material, even the times work doesn't go well. Most writers have files and files full of things that aren't finished. You just put it away and try again. Till the 20th is a good long while, yet. :)

@fluffy I'd prefer them written in the month but I will not reject them just because they were written before this month.

@Tiz Not thousands of people submitting, that'd be nice eventually but for now submissions are coming in pretty slow. I expect once it gets a bit more popular there will be a great influx but for now you are one of a few.

My first book is so close to the top 100 on Amazon Kindle, if you don't have it and have a Kindle it is only .99 and if you can download it today that would be great! Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/SWEET-DREAMS-Justice-Revenge-ebook/dp/B001N0LLP4/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_2